From the Vitafoods Europe 2014 vault

Mooted novel food changes will open exotic fruit doors in EU

“It’s going to be a really exciting time," for vegetables like the Brazilian chu chu, says Dr John Wilkinson.

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Novel Foods, exotic fruits

Exotic and functional fruits and vegetables like cashew nut fruit, chu chu and their extracts are set for an easier passage into European Union markets if mooted simplifications to EU Novel Foods laws come to fruition, according to a UK-based expert.

“Probably in the next couple of years if a company wants to import an exotic fruit or vegetable into the EU they will be able to file a very simple dossier and within six months get an approval for that fruit or vegetable,” Dr John Wilkinson, UK-based consultant and novel foods expert told us recently.

“All they are gonna need to do is show that it is safe in terms of GMP manufacturing and secondly, to give evidence of history of use in country of origin – that is in stark difference to what’s been happening up until now.”

“Up until now it would have cost you €7m approximately to file a dossier on a fruit that it is eaten widely elsewhere in the world.”

“We will see a massive increase in innovation now.”

Dr Wilkinson speaks from some experience, having worked on a successful Novel Foods dossier for baobab.

“It’s going to be a really exciting time.”

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Exotic and functional fruits and vegetables like cashew nut fruit, chu chu and their extracts are set for an easier passage into European Union markets if mooted simplifications to EU Novel Foods laws come to fruition, according to a UK-based expert.

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1 comment(Comments are now closed)

chu chu already "legal" in France?

hello, I'm surprised you chose to illustrate this article with a fruit that has been available in France and been known here for many years (in many recipe books but also on supermarket shelfs...). It's known here as Chayote (not es exotic as in UK because it grows as a weed on fences in the South of France.)